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CPI holds protest outside Ranike's house
Amarinder accepts Manpreet’s offer, will call all-party meet
Mayors seek direct funding from Centre
Bhopal, Surat corporation chiefs have a lot to offer
SGPC seeks to reconstruct 450-yr-old shrine
SC upholds life term for doc convicted of wife's murder
Hangman's noose still a long way for Hoshiarpur convicts
Khanna unit owners among 6 booked; toll climbs to 10
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State to ‘outsource’ infrastructure maintenance
Chandigarh, September 15 The state government is giving final touches for implementation of the Punjab Common Infrastructure (Regulation and Maintenance) Act, which has paved the way for this unique public private partnership. The government has also sanctioned an amount of Rs 10 crore to the Common Infrastructure Maintenance Fund, from where funds will be disbursed to the SPVs created at the district level. There are 28 industrial focal points and 17 industrial estates across the state. These areas were maintained by the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) and industrialists had been complaining that these areas were not being maintained properly. Official sources informed The Tribune that while the state government would chip in with some fiscal help to support the SPVs in all industrial areas/ estates, the majority of funds would be contributed by the industrialists located in that particular industrial area. In fact, even the SPV for each industrial estate would be created by the industrialists of that area. This SPV would be to provide efficient service to industrial houses at reasonable service charges and would maintain the common infrastructure. This SPV would operate within its jurisdiction on ‘no profit, no loss’ basis. Director, Industries, Punjab, Vikas Pratap, informed The Tribune that the Industries Department was in the process of framing all rules and bylaws for the creation and functioning of the SPVs. He said the funds to be given to the SPV would be from the proceeds of municipalities, given to the Local Bodies department. “However, the percentage of funds to be given to each SPV will be decided by a committee headed by the Chief Secretary, Punjab,” he said.
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CM announces Rs 6,000 cr urban development plan
Bathinda, September 15 Hitherto having its base in rural areas, the Shiromani Akali Dal, which created history by returning to power for the second consecutive term recently, is now aiming to strengthen its votebank in urban pockets.
Promising safe drinking water supply for all areas in Punjab, which is witnessing growing incidence of cancer and other diseases, Badal said the project will be completed within three years. Addressing the 105th meeting of the executive body of the All-India Council of Mayors (AICM) here today, he said, "The Punjab government is committed to providing facilities of safe drinking water, sewerage, roads, streetlights and parks in all 142 cities and towns within the next three years at a cost of Rs 6,000 crore." Badal sought cooperation of the state people in terms of taxes for fulfilling various developmental projects. He said the state government had set up the State Urban Development Mission and was setting up 'Integrated Municipal Solid Water Processing Plants' for all urban areas across the state. The Chief Minister also hit out at the Centre for allegedly diluting the federal structure by encroaching upon the rights of the states. "States have been reduced to municipalities. The Union Government is clandestinely shifting from the federal to unitary pattern," he said. Badal impressed upon the Mayors to frame a comprehensive low-cost housing policy for the middle and low income classes. He also asked them to suggest means to augment financial resources in urban areas. In his address, Madya Pradesh Home Minister Uma Shankar Gupta, who is AICM's national general secretary, demanded direct elections to the posts of Mayor and a minimum tenure of five years for them. AICM chairman and Indore Mayor Krishan Murari Moghe demanded that state governments should release more funds to urban local bodies to keep meet the needs of growing urbanisation. Bathinda Mayor Baljit Singh Birbehman, who is AICM vice-chairman, claimed the Punjab Government had accorded priority to urban development and the recent progress in and around Bathinda in terms of upgradation of urban infrastructure was a testimony to the government's commitment in the field. Among those present were Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Bathinda (urban) MLA and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla, Bathinda (rural) MLA Darshan Singh Kotfatta, Principal Secretary (Local Bodies) Suresh Kumar and political adviser to Chief Minister M Kamal Sharma.
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CPI holds protest outside Ranike's house
Amritsar, September 15 CPI National Council member Harbhajan Singh and district secretary Balwinder Singh Dudhala said their struggle would continue till Ranike submitted his resignation and a CBI probe was ordered. Alleging large-scale embezzlement of funds meant for the shagun scheme, they said funds under the scheme had not been reaching the beneficiaries since December 2009. They sought an investigation into the case by an outside agency and immediate release of payment to the beneficiaries.
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Amarinder accepts Manpreet’s offer, will call all-party meet
Chandigarh, September 15 Amarinder said after the Sanjha Morcha staged its dharna against the government on September 21, he would call all leaders of the opposition parties to decide on the date of the meeting. He said the opposition unity was need of the hour since the Akali-BJP government “has betrayed and let down the people of Punjab by imposing punitive taxes”. He expressed confidence that the opposition parties would work together to make the government realise its “mistakes”. Meanwhile, the Shiromani Akali Dal today ridiculed Amarinder Singh's statement welcoming the suggestion of People's Party of Punjab (PPP) chief Manpreet Singh Badal for a meeting of all opposition parties. SAD MLA NK Sharma, in a statement, alleged that such public postures of Amarinder and Manpreet could not restore the lost dignity of both the leaders as the state people had rejected them.
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Rainfall, winds flatten paddy crop
Amritsar, September 15 Chief Agriculture Officer Dilbagh Singh said rain accompanied by strong winds had badly hit non-basmati varieties in a majority of the areas. He said low-lying areas, which witnessed waterlogging, were hit the most. The accumulation of water in fields would lead to discolouring of grain, thereby taking a toll on the quality of the crop, he said. He, however, said the rainfall was good for basmati varieties as it would help them get rid of the threat of leafroll blight. He said paddy had been sown over 1.84 lakh hectares in the district, with non-Basmati sown over 97,500 hectares and basmati over 86,500 hectares. The officer said Amritsar received 40 mm rain in the last couple of days with Ajnala reporting the maximum at 57 mm and Jandiala the least at 32 mm. Kartar Singh, a farmer from Pandori Waraich village, said though he had harvested half of his crop recently, he lost the remaining half to the rainfall. He is not alone as crop on vast stretches of land in the village has been damaged due to rains, causing losses to the farming community. There are reports of flattening of paddy crop in some pockets of Gurdaspur district as well. "We have visited a few villages and noticed some damage to the crop, particularly to the early sown varieties, although the exact picture will emerge in the next couple of days," said Chief Agriculture Office RK Sabharwal. He said a section of farmers, who had gone for the "sharbati" variety of paddy, were the worst hit. However, the scenario is different in Pathankot and Tarn Taran district. While it hasn't rained much in Tarn Taran, the spell of shower in Pathankot wasn't accompanied by winds. Agriculture officials in Pathankot dubbed the rainfall as largely beneficial for paddy as flattening of crop was reported in negligible area in the district. Incurring losses Amritsar received 40 mm rain in the last couple of days with Ajnala reporting the maximum at 57 mm Standing crop was flattened in a majority of the areas in Amritsar district Accumulation of water in fields will lead to discolouring of grain, thereby taking a toll on the quality of the crop The crop has been hit in some pockets of Gurdaspur district as well The rainfall is, however, good for basmati varieties as it will help these get rid of leafroll blight.
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Mayors seek direct funding from Centre
Bathinda, September 15 The executive body of the council also demanded setting up of state-level mayor councils and a uniform tenure of five years for all mayors. It also reiterated its demand of setting up the Indian Municipal Service on the lines of the Indian Administrative Service. The council argued developing and maintaining an urban land was a specialised job of trained bureaucracy. Bathinda Mayor and vice-chairman of the council Baljit Singh Birbehman said the council also decided to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Local Bodies Minister Kamal Nath for pursuance of its demands. Madhya Pradesh Home Minister and chairman of the council Uma Shankar said the mayors had urged the Centre to implement the 74th amendment to the Constitution, which provided for a three-tier governance. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has already announced that Punjab would implement all recommendations of the council within its jurisdiction. Other demands Direct elections to the post of mayor Setting up of state-level mayor councils A uniform tenure of five years for mayors Setting up of the Indian Municipal Service
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Bhopal, Surat corporation chiefs have a lot to offer
Bathinda, September 15 The two cities have shown encouraging results to deal with problems relating to water and sanitation in the last one decade. Krishna Gour, Mayor, Bhopal Municipal Corporation, and Rajinder Desai, Mayor, Surat Municipal Corporation, who are in Bathinda to participate in the two-day executive committee meeting of All-India Council of Mayors (AICM), have shared their experiment to effectively deal with the problem of drinking water and solid waste management. After the 1984 gas leak disaster in Bhopal, groundwater was one of the major casualties in 22 out to total 70 municipal wards in the city. It turned highly toxic in and around the area of the abandoned Union Carbide facility, said Krishan. After facing this problem for two decades, Bhopal headed towards the Narmada, flowing at a distance of 70 km. After a one-time investment in laying a water pipeline from the Narmada to Bhopal, the city was able to end its water woes, said Krishna, who is also daughter-in-law of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Babu Lal Gour. "Using reverse osmosis (RO) system to provide drinking water after treating the polluted groundwater was not a lasting solution. As there is a massive loss of water in the RO system, relying on canal water was a more effective solution," she said. Surat faced a huge solid waste problem after the city experienced an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1994. The Surat civic body undertook a number of steps to improve its management of solid waste disposal, said Rajinder Desai. "These include an accelerated campaign to clean sewage lines and septic tanks, major road widening, demolition of unauthorised construction and cleaning of high density roads. Today, Surat is one of the cleanest cities in India and has become a model to which other cities look for direction," he said. "Besides heralding a new spirit in us, we are hopeful that Surat and Bhopal's extensive experience will help us overcome the problem of drinking water and solid waste management," said Baljit Singh Birbehman, Mayor, Bathinda Municipal Corporation. Lessons in urbanisation While Bhopal successfully dealt with the problem of toxic groundwater in the aftermath of the gas leak tragedy, Surat set an example in solid waste management post-1994's plague disaster.
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He has big plans for Navi Mumbai
Bathinda, September 15 The third youngest Mayor in the country was a cynosure of all eyes at the 105th meeting of the All India Council of Mayors, which began here today. He gave free-wheeling interviews all day showing the tough demeanor behind his slim and medium-height frame. Sagar was introduced at the meeting as the youngest Mayor in the country. But, his elder brother, who was also the Mayor of Navi Mumbai, was younger than him. However, the youngest Mayor in the country is Kadambari Kawale. She was 22 years old when she became the Mayor of Kolhapur in November last year. An IT graduate, Sagar belongs to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). He is a nephew of Ganesh Naik, a minister with the Maharashtra Government. Interestingly, his father Dnyaneshwar Naik is also one of the 89 corporators of the NMMC. Revealing his development plans, Sagar said he was going for re-development of Navi Mumbai through demolitions of existing structure and developing modern architecture. Sagar aims to rid the city of roadside vendors within a few months. Sagar said his age had not come in the way of carrying out his responsibilities.
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SGPC seeks to reconstruct 450-yr-old shrine
Fatehgarh Sahib, September 15 The SGPC has once again sought an appointment with Uttarakhand Chief Minister through local MLA Harbhajan Singh Cheema to resolve the issue. SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar, who was in town for the installation ceremony of Guru Granth Sahib at Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, said two delegations of the committee had already visited Uttarakhand earlier. But with the change of guard in the Uttarakhand government, the matter could not proceed further, he added. The 450-year-old gurdwara Gyan Godhri was set up at Har-ki-Pauri in memory of Guru Nanak Dev who visited the place in 1504-05. The Sikh community in the hilly state of Uttarakhand had been demanding that the shrine, which was demolished during 1984 anti-Sikh riots, should be restored at its original place.
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SC upholds life term for doc convicted of wife's murder
New Delhi, September 15 Acknowledging that it was a "blind murder" as there was no eye-witness to the crime, a Bench comprising Justices BS Chauhan and FMI Kalifulla endorsed the conviction and sentence awarded by the trial court in August 2000 and confirmed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in April 2009 on the basis of a dozen pieces circumstantial evidence. As Daniel had a "strained relationship with his wife, he no doubt wanted to get rid of her. Though he claimed petitions for divorce by mutual consent were pending before the court, he had never submitted any documents with respect to this before the court. "Thus, inference may be drawn that the appellant did in fact wish to get rid of his wife," the Bench held. A blood stained gunny bag and a few other evidence were made on the basis of Daniel's disclosure statement, the SC noted. The couple had married on October 29, 1993, but started living separately since June 1994. They had filed for divorce by mutual consent in February 1996. Shagoufta's body had been recovered from the bushes near Lalton Kalan police station, 20 km from Ludhiana city on March 11, 1996. The post-mortem showed she had been strangled before being dumped.
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Hangman's noose still a long way for Hoshiarpur convicts
Patiala, September 15 Firstly, the Punjab Jail Department lacks an official hangman to send the convicts to the gallows. Sources, however, said the jail superintendent, as per the jail manual, was bound to carry out the execution order once issued even by summoning a hangman from some other state. The second reason could be the convicts filing a mercy petition before the President. The problem of an official hangman was seen recently as well when Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted for killing former Chief Minister Beant Singh, was to be hanged. The order, however, was later put on hold. Inspector General (jails) Jagjit Singh said, “The hanging order will be carried out. We do not have a hangman, but we will arrange one from some other state." The Hoshiarpur District and Sessions court had yesterday ordered issuance of death warrants of Vikram Singh Walia and Jasvir Singh, convicted for killing 16-year-old Abhi Verma, for ransom in February 2005. Their death penalty was upheld by the apex court. 12 on death row in state Vikram Singh, Jasvir Singh, Balwant Singh Rajoana, Mohinder Singh, Suraj Ahluwalia, Resham Singh, Gurnayab Singh, Kulbir Singh, Gurmukh Singh, Saleem, Judge Singh, Gurwail Singh They are lodged in Amritsar (3), Faridkot (4), Ludhiana (2) and Patiala (3) jails Vikram Singh Walia and Jasvir Singh are to be hanged at 9 am on Oct 5 They have been convicted for killing a 16-year-old Hoshiarpur boy for ranson
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Khanna unit owners among 6 booked; toll climbs to 10
Ludhiana, September 15 Also, Deputy Director (boilers) Jatinder Singh Bhatti has been suspended. Khanna SSP Ravcharan Brar said among those booked were factory owners Sanjiv Agarwal, Naval Agarwal and Samlal Agarwal, marketing manager Harish Kumar, manager Mukesh Kumer and plant incharge Hemraj. The case (under Section 304-A, 427 and I20-B of the IPC) had been registered on the complaint of Manjit Singh, who was working as an electrician at the plant. A resident of Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar at Lalheri Road in Khanna, Manjit is undergoing treatment at the PGI, Chandigarh. He alleged that the plant's machines had developed snags and the owners did not bother to repair them despite the matter being brought to their notice.
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Chandigarh, September 15
Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amarinder Singh today welcomed the proposal of Sanjha Morcha chairman Manpreet Badal to call an all-party (opposition) meeting to chalk out the course of action against the “anti-people” policies of the Punjab Government.
